The present invention, in its one embodiment, relates to a switch mechanism of a type in which a detection sensor containing a movable member moved in conjunction with a button operation is not mounted. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus wherein the switch mechanism of the type in which the detection sensor is not mounted is attached to an operating surface.
In contents production sites and output sites, a large number of material data and program data are dealt with daily. For example, in a contents production site, a multiplicity of material data are dealt with in an editing work. Also, in a contents output site, in addition to produced program data, a large number of live data are switchedly outputted.
In carrying out such works, generally, a control panel having an arrangement of a large number of switches is used. The number of the switches arranged may, in some cases, mount up to several hundreds.
Therefore, each of these switches incorporates a mechanism for enabling easy confirmation of the operation state (ON/OFF) of the switch. For example, a switch incorporates a mechanism for turning ON a button surface when the switch is in the ON state.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual configuration of a switch. FIG. 1 shows a structure example of a switch based on a system in which a drive mechanism and an electric part are separate from each other.
In the case of this example, the drive mechanism is composed of a button top 3 and a shaft 5 which are housed in a main body case 1. Incidentally, the drive mechanism is attached to an operating surface 7 through the main body case 1.
On the other hand, the electric part is composed of a photosensor 11 mounted on a wiring board 9.
In the switch with this configuration, as the button top 3 is depressed, the tip end of the shaft 5 attached to a bottom portion of the button top 3 is lowered to such a position as to intercept the optical path of the photosensor 11. This condition is detected, whereby the operation of the pushbutton is detected. The condition where the shaft 5 has been pushed down is shown in FIG. 1B.
Incidentally, the main body case is provided on the inside thereof with a step for providing a lowermost point of the depressed position, so that when the button top 3 is depressed to the lowermost point, the bottom surface of the button top 3 abuts on the step and is thereby stopped.
Besides, when a finger having depressed the button top 3 is put off, the button top 3 is returned to its original position by a repelling force of a compression coil spring (not shown). In this instance, the photosensor 11 is again set into a light-detecting condition, to detect that the pushbutton operation is removed. The condition where the shaft 5 has been returned into its original position is shown in FIG. 1A.
(See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-85506)